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| NCJ Number:
|
NCJ 177900
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| Title:
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Entering the System: Ethnic Differences in Closing Juvenile Criminal Files in Israel
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| Journal:
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Journal of Crime and Delinquency Volume:36 Issue:2 Dated:May 1999 Pages:175 to 193
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| Author(s):
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Gustavo S. Mesch ; Gideon Fishman
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| Publication Date:
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1999 |
| Pages:
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19 |
| Type:
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Studies/research reports |
| Origin:
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United States |
| Language:
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English |
| Annotation:
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Using Israeli data, this article explores the differences
between Arabs and Jews regarding the decision to close juvenile
criminal files rather than to prosecute. |
| Abstract:
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Three hypotheses were tested. The first argues that
differential outcomes are the result of group differences in
social background characteristics. The second argues that
differential outcomes are the result of group differences in
crime seriousness and the degree of previous crime involvement.
The third hypothesis examines whether different criteria are
applied to different ethnic groups in the decision to dismiss a
case. Data included all the juvenile files that were opened in
1995 in Israel. A total of 5,735 files were opened, including
3,030 property offenses, 1,992 offenses against the person, and
723 offenses against public order. A number of explanatory
variables were used in the study: age, nationality, occupation,
family criminality, and prior convictions. The findings show that
Arab youths faced a greater chance of standing trial than Jews,
even after some sociodemographic and some legal variables were
controlled. The less serious the offense, the more likely were
law enforcement officers to use particularistic criteria to apply
to one group only. This resulted in disparities in file closure.
In the case of property crimes and to some extent crimes against
the person and public order, different, particularistic criteria,
such as age and school attendance, were applied only to Jewish
juveniles, which increased the probability their files would be
closed. 6 tables, 3 notes, and 25 references |
| Main Term(s):
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Juvenile case disposition |
| Index Term(s):
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Juvenile processing ; Racial discrimination ; Israel |
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To cite this abstract, use the following link:
http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=177900
|
* A link to the full-text document is provided whenever possible. For documents
not available online, a link to the publisher's web site is provided.
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